Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel says he is “kind of embarrassed” by the recent legal troubles three of his players and one his coaches have encountered.

Speaking on Monday’s Big 12 coaches teleconference, Pinkel didn’t directly address any of the issues — senior tailback Derrick Washington is facing a single count of felony deviate sexual assault, reserve tight end and long snapper Beau Brinkley was charged with driving while intoxicated and middle linebacker Will Ebner and co-offensive line coach Bruce Walker are facing drunk driving violations. Pinkel did talk about how it affects the program.

“We’ve worked real hard to develop and build a program I think that has a very good reputation of being first class and disciplined,” Pinkel told reporters. “And we’ve taken a few hits. The only way you’re going to that back is to earn it back. That’s what we intend to do.”

So how do you do that? That’s a challenge for Pinkel and his staff to answer.

For now, Pinkel said the Tigers aren’t changing anything.

“We’ve built our program with discipline as we do, and we’re going to continue to do what we do. It’s worked over the years, and we’re not going to change,” Pinkel said.

That’s not entirely true.

According to Dave Matter, the beat writer covering the Tigers for the Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri’s offensive and defensive coordinators will not be available for interviews every Monday during the season. They have been able each Monday during Pinkel’s tenure. Instead, the coordinators will take turns each week meeting with the media when requested.

I haven’t read anywhere why the change in policy was made, but in light of all the negative publicity the program has received for off-the-field issues, it gives the impression to the program’s detractors the Tigers are circling the wagons. I’ve seen it happen with other programs, and intended or not, it paints a bad light.

I’ve never had the privilege of working with Pinkel or his staff on a day-to-day basis the way I did with Norm Stewart and the basketball staff when I covered the Tigers for the Tribune, and my colleagues have said over the years they’ve built a good working relationship with Pinkel and his staff. The times I’ve dealt with the likes of offensive coordinator David Yost and others, they’ve been friendly, open and talkative. I hope that continues. I hope people are reading too much into a change in interview policy or the staff reconsiders and goes back to talking to the media on Mondays the way they always have.

Already I’ve heard references to Quin Snyder and the basketball program being made.

This doesn’t compare to the way Snyder ran things amok, but the football program doesn’t want to give detractors a reason to compare it to the dark days.

Hannibal tailback Mark Nemes rushed for 130 yards and scored three touchdowns — one rushing, one receiving and one on an interception return — Friday night against Quincy Notre Dame. (H-W Photo/Michael Kipley)

Nemes does it all

You would think Hannibal tailback Mark Nemes might be household name in this area after his 1,400-yard season a year ago.

He better be a household name now.

Lost in the euphoria the Quincy Notre Dame football team experienced with its 36-32 come-from-behind victory Friday night against Hannibal was the fact Nemes left his mark on every facet of the game. He caught a 78-yard touchdown pass, returned an interception 65 yards for a score and had a 21-yard rushing touchdown as part of the 130 yards he gained on the ground. He also had a 21-yard punt return and a 43-yard kickoff return.

“Nemes is as good as what people say he is,” QND coach Bill Connell said.

Actually, he might be better than his reputation.

Teary-eyed

As emotional as Connell can be in his pregame speeches, he rarely shows anything softer than a tough-guy image. The way the Raiders rallied in the final two minutes, scoring twice and recovering an onside kick, nearly brought him to tears.

He said he almost pulled a Dick Vermeil talking to his team in the postgame huddle.

“Most of the time I keep my composure,” Connell said. “As the head coach, you have to keep your composure. It was tough.”

Needing water

Throughout the fourth quarter, Connell and his staff piece together units with backups because so many players were cramping up from dehydration. At least six QND starters cramped up, and at one point, three players were on the ground at the same time battling cramps.

Getting crowded

Modest estimates of the size of the crowd ranged from 3,500 to 4,000 fans, and people who live in the vicinity of Quincy Notre Dame said more cars filled the streets than they had ever seen before.

Obviously, this was one of the biggest crowds to ever see a game at 10th and Jackson. Most people compare it to the 1994 playoff game against Pittsfield that drew an estimated 4,000 fans.

“This game was as good as it was meant to be,” Connell said.

Quite a kick

When QND scored on a 13-yard pass from Kramer Barnes to Anthony Bruns with 53 seconds remaining in regulation, Raiders kicker Matt Doane began warming up to attempt an onside kick, and he had some pretty good help.

Patrick Smith, a former QND kicker who is now kicking for Western Illinois University, was on the sideline giving Doane advice on how to kick the ball so it would bounce just right. Doane hit it perfectly, driving the ball into the chest of Hannibal’s Kaleb Whelan. Ian Hinkamper recovered for the Raiders, who scored four plays later on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Barnes to Bruns.

“Doane’s been struggling during practice,” Bruns said. “Here, he made a great kick. He came through in the clutch for us.”

In hot pursuit

Maybe the most impressive part of Hannibal’s defensive effort was the way the Pirates pursued sideline to sideline and refused to give up the big play.

QND tailback Daniel Weiman scored on a 26-yard run in the third quarter, but it was his only double-digit gain of the night. He averaged 4.7 yards per carry and the Raiders averaged just 3.9 yards per carry, gaining 108 yards on 28 attempts.

“There are some things we have to work on,” Connell said. “There are some things I’m sure Hannibal has to work on. When two good teams face each other, you’re going to find out there are some weaknesses. We have to go back and work on those things.”

Hannibal coach Mark St. Clair said he was pleased with the effort.

“I told them character counts and you showed character tonight,” St. Clair said. “I can’t say anything about our guys except how proud I am of them. They played hard the entire game.”

Starting with a win

QND won its season opener for the seventh straight time and the 13th time in 19 seasons under Connell.

“Walking out of here 1-0 instead of 0-1, it’s a difference of night and day,” Connell said. “Coming out of the chutes winning the first, it’s a difference of night and day. Hopefully, we understand now we can play with anybody. No matter what the circumstances are, you have to hang in there. Scoring two times in 57 seconds doesn’t seem realistic. I don’t know if it was luck or what, but we had guys make plays. That made the difference.”

What a debut

Connor Reis showed right away he has what it takes to be on the football field.

The QND junior kicker is a starting forward on the soccer team and had two assists in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Springfield. However, he got his first taste of football Friday night when he kicked off just 16 seconds into the game. And he made his first big play as well.

Nemes took the kick at his own 5-yard line, made a couple of moves in the middle of the field and had only Reis to beat to have a shot at returning the kick for a touchdown. Reis made the tackle at the Hannibal 48-yard line, taking down Nemes like he’d been playing the sport all his life.

A new wrinkle

The halfback option isn’t something the QND coaching staff plucks from the playbook too often. You have to go back to 2006 to find the last time it happened.

Ironically enough, a couple of brothers pulled it off both times.

Senior tailback Daniel Weiman took the snap out of the wildcat formation and connected with quarterback Kramer Barnes on a 48-yard score. It was the first TD pass of Weiman’s career and Barnes’ first TD catch. In 2007, facing Peoria Manual in Week 6, the Raiders ran a similar. However, quarterback Matt Welding, making his first start after replacing his injured brother, Marcus, tossed the ball to Michael Weiman on an apparent sweep. Weiman stopped and tossed a 15-yard scoring pass to Welding as the Raiders won the game 34-12.

“I think there were some things that surprised our fans,” Connell said.

The boxscore

QND 36, Hannibal 32
HAN        QND
11    First downs    15
36-239    Rushes-yards    28-108
107    Passing yards    274
346    Totals yards    382
2-9-3    Comp-Att-Int    16-35-1
5-25    Penalties-yards    4-30
3-2    Fumbles-lost    4-1
Hannibal    6    6    6    14—32
QND    7    0    8    21—36
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Q—Daniel Weiman 92 kickoff return (Matt Doane kick), 11:44
H—Mark Nemes 78 pass from Kyle Arthuad (kick failed), 6:40
Second Quarter
H—Nemes 21 run (run failed), 10:15
Third Quarter
Q—Weiman 26 run (Luke Hinkamper run), 6:08
H—Nemes 65 interception return (kick failed), 3:00
Fourth Quarter
H—Arthaud 44 run (pass failed), 9:06
Q—Kramer Barnes 48 pass from Weiman (pass failed), 7:34
H—Caleb Bieneik 6 run (Lenny Clark run), 1:50
Q—Anthony Bruns 13 pass from Barnes (Barnes pass to Ian Hinkamper), :53
Q—Bruns 44 pass from Barnes (Doane kick), :11
Individual Statistics
RUSHING—Hannibal, Nemes 14-130, Arthuad 10-55, Bieniek 4-29, Clark 6-21, Joel Shrum 2-4. QND, Weiman 17-80, Barnes 7-19, Ian Hinkamper 2-7, Ryan Terstriep 2-2.
PASSING—Hannibal, Arthaud 1-7-78-2, Logan Hicks 1-1-29-0, Nemes 0-1-0-1. QND, Barnes 15-34-226-1, Weiman 1-1-48-0.
RECEIVING—Hannibal, Nemes 1-78, Paul Trenhaile 1-29. QND, Bruns 6-85, Mark Grawe 3-59, Weiman 3-27, Stamerjohn 2-50, Barnes 1-48, Terstriep 1-5.

Here are three keys to the Quincy High School football team beating Alton in Friday night’s season opener at Public Schools Stadium in Alton:

1. Kill their confidence

Alton is coming off an 0-9 season and first-year Redbirds coach Nate Albaugh’s challenge is to make his team believe it can win. Quincy needs to squash that immediately. An early touchdown and immediate defensive stops not only would give the Blue Devils the lead, but it could make the Redbirds doubt themselves. The pressure would appear to be on Quincy, which is trying to duplicate last season’s success. By putting Alton in an early hole, the pressure shifts.

2. Establish the run

For Quincy to be successful this season, the Blue Devils have to churn out yards on the ground. Not only will it be an edge against Alton, but it is necessary to control the clock in the Western Big Six Conference. With that in mind, the Blue Devils need to be physical up fron, explode off the ball and give G.W. Scott and others plenty of room to run. If Quincy can rack up 200 or more yards on the ground, it will make everyone else on the schedule take notice.

3. Play like a winner

The Blue Devils established last year they can be successful. Now they have to act like it. They can’t be overconfident or cocky, but they have to play with a swagger. Quincy can get back to the playoffs, but the Blue Devils have to win non-conference game to do so. It starts with this one. Play with intensity and the confidence they’re going to win, not hoping to win.

Here are three keys to the Quincy Notre Dame football team beating Hannibal in Friday night’s season opener at 10th and Jackson:

1. Let it fly

QND’s move to the spread offense last year made more dynamic, and with 10 starters returning on offense, the Raiders should have more knowledge of the system and what works. Prove it. Bury the Hannibal defense with an onslaught of offense and scoring. Hannibal is going to play with some swagger. The Pirates play like winners. To offset that, the Raiders have to make the Pirates feel like they can’t stop them.

2. Nemes and no one else

Mark Nemes is an all-state tailback, having rushed for 1,400 yards last season. He’s going to get the ball and he’s going to pick up some yards. He’s that good. QND cannot let someone else enjoy a career because the Raiders are too focused on stopping Nemes. Quarterback Kyle Arthaud and fullback Lenny Clark are talented, and Pirates coach Mark St. Clair is blessed with a lot of speed and agility in his skill position players. It won’t be easy, but QND can’t get burned by someone other than Nemes and expect to survive.

3. Give ’em a kick

QND figured it would have an edge over most opponents with senior Blake Doane returning as the team’s kicker. Well, Doane suffered a torn knee ligament playing in a summer basketball tournament with the Raiders back in June and he is expected to miss thed entire season. It means his younger brother, Matt, will take over the kicking duties, along with help from Connor Reis, who is a starting forward on the QND soccer team. Together, they should be able to give QND an edge in special teams. Both have to kick with confidence and accuracy.

The Quincy Notre Dame football received two first-place votes in the Class 4A state poll, which is voted on by sports writers throughout the state, and opens the season ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history. The only other time the Raiders have been ranked No. 1 was in 1994, when they spent the final five weeks of the regular season atop the Class 2A state poll.

Five different schools received first-place votes in the Class 4A poll, showing how much depth there is among the most talented teams at that level. I have a vote and put QND at No. 1, although I went back and forth among my top three teams. Here are my votes in the preseason poll:

1. QND

2. Stillman Valley

3. Breese Mater Dei

4. Bishop McNamara

5. Mount Zion

6. Geneseo

7. Rochester

8. Belleville Althoff

9. Chillicothe IVC

10. Mahomet-Seymour

Here’s how the poll came out with first-place votes in parentheses:

1. Quincy Notre Dame (2)

2. Breese Mater Dei (2)

3. Geneseo

(tie) Stillman Valley (5)

5. Rochester (2)

6. Bishop McNamara (1)

7. Mount Zion

8. Belleville Althoff

9. Effingham

(tie) Richmond-Burton

I have no problem admitting I’m a traditionalist. I don’t see a need for the designated hitter or artificial turf. I believe Friday nights are for high school football, Saturday afternoons are designed for tailgating at a college game and Sundays are leave-me-alone-so-I-can-watch-the-NFL days. The World Series needs to be decided in October, not the first week of Novemeber. And never write Kansas on any line of an NCAA Tournament bracket. Never. (OK, that’s a tradition only a Mizzou grad can appreciate.)

The point I’m making is some things don’t need messed with.

School colors fall into that category.

Saturday, I picked up a copy of Chris Duerr’s Gridiron Playbook and started thumbing through it, but not before giving the cover more that a courtesy glance. A dozen area football players posed in their uniforms for the cover photo and the traditionally strong look of certain schools captured my attention.

Hannibal has the black and red scheme with the white helmet adorned with a pirate. Perfect.

Quincy Notre Dame’s unis are navy and gold. No logos. No words. Simple.

South Shelby boasts of red jerseys, red pants, red helmets. I did like the white helmets with the Cardinals logo the Shelbina school once used, but the “SS” on red helmets works well, too.

Quincy High School wears blue jerseys and blue socks with black pants and helmets.

Black?

I know this isn’t a new development, but I can’t come to grips with the Blue Devils wearing black. The school colors are blue and white. They have been for more than 100 years. I realize some college and professional teams use accent colors to highlight their school colors and to increase uniform and merchandise sales. In many ways, it’s a marketing tool. QHS isn’t doing that. The Blue Devils are simply going for a more contemporary look. I like the design with the “Q” on the side of the helmet. I just don’t like black as part of the uniform.

Here’s where I may be too much of a traditionalist.

I like the simple look of Penn State. Navy and white. Nothing else needed. I appreciate Alabama wearing crimson and white with a number on the side of the helmet. You think of history and Bear Bryant when you see that. Ohio State isn’t changing its scarlet and gray.

School colors are a source of pride, and in Quincy’s case, the fight song says it all.

“Stand up and cheer

Cheer loud for dear old High School

For today we raise

the White and Blue above all others.”

As the South Shelby football players lined up in the bleachers for the annual team photo earlier this week, one thought occurred to me.

Pictures don’t lie. This team is big.

Led by powerful linemen Shane Smith, a 6-foot-4, 265-pound senior, and Ethan Decker, a 6-2, 290-pound senior, the Cardinals are imposing, especially for a Class 1 school. Heck, most people think South Shelby is capable of winning the Clarence Cannon Conference, even with the likes of Centralia and CCC newcomer Clark County in the mix. Why? It’s all about the size.

The Cardinals return four starters on the offensive line from last year’s playoff team and seven starters overall on offense and defense. It all adds up to a team capable of handling the rigors of playing inside the CCC and possibly playing for the program’s third state championship since 1990.

“I told them the media, the community, their peers are going to be telling you how good you are,” South Shelby coach Rob Wilt said. ≥”None of that stuff matters. We need to know that we are getting better each day. If we stay where we are at right now, we’re not going to get our goals. We’ve been talking a lot about staying focused on what today brings, not what the future brings.”

The message is being heard.

“We have good focus at the beginning at the beginning of practice,” Decker said. “As we get tired, we have to work on pushing through the pain and getting more endurance. We try to live up to everyone’s expectations and not let them down.”

With an athletic squad, it seems possible.

Alex O’Laughlin returns at quarterback with Jordan Thompson, a bruising 215-pound senior, at fullback and multi-purpose junior Will Mefford able to play tailback or fullback. Toss in sophomore Alex Blackford, a scatback who is likely to have an impact, and this team has the right mix of power and speed to be effective. That means there is no secret what the Cardinals want to do.

“Run the ball,” said Ethan Dodd, a senior who will start at offensive guard and middle linebacker. “That’s a tradition here.”

Tradition never gets taken lightly.

“These kids are gamers,” Wilt said. “They know when to turn on the switch, but you want to make sure they don’t lose that intensity. You want practice to be harder than a game.”

The Cardinals will make it look that way on Friday nights.

As two-a-day practices came to a close Tuesday night, Pittsfield football coach Don Bigley cut the Saukees some slack.

First, they ditched their helmets and shoulder pads for the final drill. Then, Bigley ended practice early, the reward for so many days of focus and effort.

“We’ve hit more so far than I normally do because we’re trying to figure out what we have,” Bigley said.

What the Saukees have is plenty of talent and an equal amount of inexperience.

While the varsity went 8-2, losing in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs with a senior-laden squad, the sophomores went 8-1 and the freshmen went 8-2. So Bigley is confident they can replace the likes of all-state tailback Devon Johnson, quarterback Jordan Cawthon and linebacker Sam Ghrist.

“The thing that they’ve shown to me so far is the ability to improve,” Bigley said. “We played in three 7-on-7s this summer and saw drastic improvement from the first one to the last one. You don’t always see that. We have good skill kids and some big kids.”

Actually, he has 26 kids he could see earning playing time.

The real key is finding five to play up front. It’s where Bigley and his staff are finding their most pleasant surprises. Senior guard Cody Clendenny made “a commitment this summer he hadn’t made in the past,” according to Bigley and is earning every snap he gets. Skyler Lambeth, a junior, might not have prototypical line size at 220 pounds but Bigley likes his quick feet and intelligence. And junior Coltyn Pease has bulked up to 265 pounds and has “done everything expected of him,” Bigley said.

It’s making the job easier for leaders like senior guard John Schultz.

“We have a lot of guys who want to play, so we should be all right,” Schultz said. “They’re learning quick.”

That needs to happen at a lot of positions, including quarterback where senior Steven Risley and junior Seth Petty have both looked capable of starting. Whichever one wins the job, the other will find himself heavily involved in the offense in some capacity.

So will Dillon Butler and several others, who must mature quickly against a schedule loaded from top to bottom. That makes concentration and focus imperative.

“Play every down, play every game,” Risley said. “Don’t worry about what’s coming next.”

Bobby Thomson's home run to win the pennant for the New York Giants may be the most memorable home run in major league history.

The moniker “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” pretty much says it all, but I still had to ask myself upon hearing Bobby Thomson died Tuesday at the age of 86 if his home run to decide the National League pennant in 1951 is the most memorable homer in major league history.

Thomson connected off the Brooklyn Dodgers’ Ralph Branca in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 3 of a three-game playoff, blasting a three-run homer that gave the New York Giants the pennant.

The radio call of Russ Hodges repeating “The Giants win the pennant!” goes down as one of the great calls of all-time as well.

But is Thomson’s homer the most memorable ever? There are certainly plenty to choose from, like …

• Bill Mazeroski, in 1960, clinched the World Series for the Pirates when he homered off Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7, breaking a 9-9 tie.

• Kirk Gibson, in 1988, homered off A’s closer Dennis Eckersley with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, which gave the Dodgers a 5-4 victory. Hobbled by injuries to both legs, Gibson made his only plate appearance of the series count.

• Carlton Fisk, in 1975, won Game 6 of the World Series for the Red Sox when he homered in the bottom of the 12th inning against the Reds, waving the ball fair as it soared toward the left field foul pole.

• and Joe Carter, in 1993, became the second person to end a World Series with a walk-off homer, lifting the Blue Jays to an 8-6 victory in Game 6 with a three-run shot off Phillies closer Mitch Williams.

You could probably make an argument for each headlining a list of the most memorable shots in major league history, although the shots by Thomson, Mazeroski and Gibson certainly are the most magical.

Cardinals fans will say Ozzie Smith's home run off Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer in Game 5 of the 1985 NLCS is one of the most dramatic home runs they've seen.

Here’s how I would rank them …

1. Thomson

2. Mazeroski

3. Gibson

4. Carter

5. Fisk

Gibson’s blast is one of the most memorable ones I’ve seen, as is Carter’s homer. These are the kind of home runs that you remember where you were when they happened.

For me, there are a couple others, like …

• Ozzie Smith’s “Go Crazy, Folks” blast off Dodgers reliever Tom Niedenfuer in Game 5 of the NLCS. The Cardinals switch-hitting shortstop, who had never hit a left-handed homer in his career, connected for a solo home run to right field and a 3-2 victory.

• Kirby Puckett’s solo homer leading off the bottom of the 11th inning in Games 6 of the 1991 World Series with the Twins facing elimination. Puckett broke the tie by connecting off the Braves’ Charlie Liebrandt and then rounding the bases with his right arm raised in triumph.

What memorable home runs still resonate for you?

Chip and Eddy Holtschlag sat in the back of a Honda Big Red off-road vehicle, watching the Quincy Notre Dame football team’s first-string defense go through drills Monday evening.

Both were expected to be on the field.

The brothers, who are both seniors, are two of several Raiders battling injuries less than a week into practice. Chip Holtschlag, slated to play right defensive end, had his ankle landed on wrong during Saturday’s practice and suffered a broken fibula that will sideline him six to eight weeks.

Eddy, who was penciled in as the starter at left end, suffered a broken fifth metatarsal — the long bone on the outside of the foot that connects to the little toe — and will be out two to four weeks.

The Raiders had already lost senior Blake Doane, a kicker and wide receiver, for the season after he tore knee ligaments playing in a summer basketball tournament. Doane likely will rejoin the QND basketball team by mid-season and be ready for the spring, where he will be expected to be one of QND’s top pitchers.

Add up those losses with a few others who are battling some nagging injuries — linemen Dalton Emery and Nick Reichert for example — and depth could become an issue. So could losing intensity at practice.

The Raiders say that isn’t the case.

“We have so many spots open now, the intensity has picked up,” senior tackle Matt Hugenberg said. “I like the intensity. I like the leadership the senior class is showing. We’re just getting after it.”

No one is worrying where or when the next injury happens.

“You have to throw that idea out of your head, look down at the depth chart to see who else we have and look for some guys to step up and fill the voids we have,” senior lineman Connor Miller said. “We’ll see who is showing up at practice ready to play.”

So far, that seems to be everyone. The Raiders practiced twice Monday, including what amounted to a three-hour session Monday night. No one backed down and the pads were popping as loud with the sun setting as they were when the sun was roasting.

The players realize Bill Connell and his coaching staff won’t let up.

“The coaches have picked up the intensity, especially Coach Connell,” said Daniel Weiman, the senior all-state tailback. “He’s trying to make sure everyone is getting ready to go and not moping around as much.”

What the coaches are seeing is several players ready to showcase their abilities.

Zach Marquess, a senior, figured to be in the rotation at defensive end or possibly at defensive tackle. Now, he finds himself the likely starter at one end. Marquess had a very productive season last year with 32 tackles and two sacks, playing defensive end when Eddy Holtschlag missed most of the season with a shoulder injury.

Junior Garrett Becker and sophomore Ben Holtschlag could figure into the mix at defensive end as well.

The injuries affect the offense as well. Chip Holtschlag would have worked into the rotation, likely at right guard, while Marquess may have been one of the answers at the position as well. Marquess may concentrate solely on defense now, meaning the Raiders have to find someone ready to step into an offensive role.

Hugenberg and Miller will anchor the left side of the line, with Emery returning at center or possibly moving to guard. Ben Morrison could move into the center spot with Brad Wellman, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound junior, likely the starter at right tackle. Reichert and junior Brendan Ervin could also work into the mix.

It leaves the coaching staff with a lot of decisions to be made before the Aug. 27 opener against Hannibal, but they have players ready and willing to try.

“Practices have been real upbeat,” Weiman said. “The intensity has been off the charts.”